This morning -- EARLY this morning -- fellow VISTA Gabrielle and I were sitting down at the ritzy Toledo Club for the Reentry Coalition of Northwest Ohio's Legislative Breakfast.
The breakfast, entitled "Building a Bridge to Effective Reentry," was attended by judges, elected officials, the chief of police, area ministers and other community leaders.
The focus was on the importance of reentry services and an update on the progress in implementing such services in Lucas County and across Ohio.
The program emphasized how reentry does not affect ex-offenders alone -- it is also tied to and touches the lives of the children, families and communities the offender returns to.
A lot of interesting stats were cited by various speakers:
-About 1 in 100 people are currently behind bars in the U.S., the highest percentage in history and a dramatic increase from previous years.
-1 in 31 adults nationwide are under some form of correctional control, which also includes those in halfway houses, on parole and on probation. In Ohio, the percentage is 1 in 25 (one-fourth of Ohioans)!
-10 million children in the U.S. have experienced having a parent in prison at one time(1.5 million currently).
-About two-thirds of released offenders are back behind bars within three years of release.
Illustrating with a personal experience how the correctional system touches the lives of everyone in a community, the executive director of the Reentry Coalition talked briefly about his personal situation. (That's him speaking at the podium in the lefthand corner in the top photo.) The oldest of seven siblings, his youngest brother is currently serving time in a correctional facility.
Another Reentry Coaltion official shared his story of spending nine years behind bars and how much reentry services helped him make the transition back. He said he realized how much of a readjustment reentry can when, just before getting out, he saw a quarter lying on a table -- and didn't recognize what it was.
To wrap up, a pastor urged the audience to consider mentoring a soon-to-be-released offender. Even just a small amount of time can make a difference in showing an ex-offender that someone cares and believes they can make it, even though it seems daunting right now, he said.
He pointed out that, for many of the successful people in the room, their lowest moments are still higher than some people's highest moments. But regardless of stature in the community, gaining trust is a process: "People don't care how much you know before they know how much you care."
Afterward, the executive director, greeting people on his way out, stopped to talk with Gabrielle and I, which was nice of him. He asked what agency we were with and when we said Ohio Benefit Bank, he shook our hands and said "Oh yeah, oh yeah! Good!" enthusiastically.
It's nice to be appreciated.
(Sidenote: The day turned out to be gorgeous and my snazzy red heels, seen above in the pretty leaves outside the food bank, always add festive brightness to my day!)
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